I watched Wild Rice’s latest production, Jack & The Bean-Sprout! at the Drama Centre Theatre @ National Library recently.

Billed as “the GINORMOUS musical adventure”, this hilariously witty little musical (oh, maybe I shouldn’t use the word “little” in this case) is written by Desmond Sim, directed by Jonathan Lim, and features yet more original compositions by Elaine Chan (whose songwriting talents I’ve always admired).

Actors and actresses include “Broadway Beng” Sebastian Tan as the protagonist Jack (Neo), the irrepressible Ivan Heng as the outspoken Widow Neo (the mum of Jack), the lovely Karen Tan in a multitude of roles such as the Giant’s Golden Hit Harp and the Karang Guni Man, and many others.

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The Pantomime Tradition

Jack & The Bean-Sprout! is this year’s installment of Wild Rice’s highly anticipated annual Christmas pantomime, the previous ones being Cinderel-LAH in 2003 (one of my favourites in terms of original Elaine Chan compositions), Aladdin in 2004, and Oi! Sleeping Beauty!! in 2005.  

The Wild Rice pantomime is traditionally catered for kids, and the stageplay is thus tailored in a way so as to appeal to the little ones, e.g. colourful costumes, eye-catching visuals, childish banter, audience interaction, etc.

Jack! is no different, although I felt the “childish-ness” was slightly toned down this time round, and there was a discernable increase in more “adult” kind of jokes.

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Story

I guess the original Jack and the Beanstalk story is a natural adaptation choice for a pantomime as it contains so many fascinating elements which would easily appeal to children…magic beans, a beanstalk which grows to the heavens, a giant, a hen which lays golden eggs, etc.

It’s a magical story with hardly a dull moment.

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Stageplay

Ivan Heng was hands down the most impressive and enigmatic performer of the night.

His portrayal of the embattled Widow Neo was simply beyond compare…the comic timing, the range of emotions, and the immersion into character.

He basically made the show tick.

A truly precious talent.

The acting was generally fantastic all around, with many in the cast giving good performances, e.g. Sebastian Tan, Karen Tan, Aidli “Alin” Mosbit (very funny), Celine Rosa Tan, Gene Sha Rudyn (never seen him before, but he was really good), just to name a few.

Even though the show lasted almost two and a half hours, it was fast-paced and funny enough to make every minute of it enjoyable.

The sets were ok, but some of the props used were pretty interesting…like the giant cockroach, and the Giant’s feet at the end of the show.

The puppeteering work was pretty good too, especially for the family cow (“Ah Kow”), the Goose Mangat and the Golden Hit Harp.

Though there was one particular scene when they were trying to enact the growing of the bean-sprout in the night…I thought it was rather awkwardly done.

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Very Good

Overall it was a wonderfully entertaining performance, truly one of the best Wild Rice pantomimes I’ve been to.

Extremely funny, highly entertaining.

I would also rate it above the recent “Little Shop of Horrors” starring the Dim Sum Dollies in terms of overall enjoyment and level of satisfaction.

Go catch it if you can.

I think you’ll like it too.